Bomb claims life of a seven year old boy in West Bengal, nine other injured

A blast rocked the Kazipara area of Dumdum Nager Bazar in Kolkata today at 9.30 a.m. Ten people in total were injured in the blast, with two of them suffering critical injuries.

The injured were taken to R. G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, SSKM Hospital and a local private hospital for treatments. Later, a seven-year-old boy named Bibhas Ghosh succumbed to his injuries at the SSKM hospital.

The blast took place just outside of a multi-storied building where the Chairperson of the North Dumdum municipality, Panchu Roy has an office. As per initial investigation, ammonium nitrate was used in carrying out the blast, where iron nails were also recovered. The forensic team and the bomb squad of CID are examining the blast spot.

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According to a report by ABP Ananda, The blast was of such power that even the windows of the opposite building were shattered and it put a dent on a nearby shutter door of a shop. Speaking to ABP, Panchu Roy stated that he is of the opinion that this blast was intended to target the TMC cadres who usually gather around that very spot after their meeting with the chairperson.

Panchu Roy also stated that a bag filled with multiple bombs was also recovered from the spot by the police. The police, on the other hand, are yet to confirm the origin of the blast. The police stated that it was a ‘socket bomb’.

Initially, the police thought the blast was originated from a gas cylinder but later confirmed it was a bomb after further investigations.

Panchu Roy who considers himself to be the intended target of the bomb hinted at a political motive behind the blast and claimed that these political forces were plotting to kill him and his TMC workers. According to reports, West Bengal Minister Purnendu Basu has compared the blast in the Nager Bazar area with others carried out by ‘RSS elsewhere’. Although police have said that it is too early to determine anything, the TMC minister has alleged that RSS is behind the blast.

This is not the first time the Bengal government has tried to hinder its increasingly incompetent law and order state mechanism by blaming opposition parties. Earlier in the case of two schoolboys being shot dead by police, TMC had alleged that miscreants belonging to the BJP shot the two students, who were protesting against the appointment of Urdu teachers while they needed teachers of other subjects in Bengali medium and there were no Urdu students in the school.

During the last few years, bombs have been regularly recovered from TMC offices and houses of TMC leaders. There have been cases of accidental blasts of such stockpiles also.